


Rage, Rage against the dying of the light.

by starktower



Series: Do not go gentle into that good night. [2]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 06:53:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14130516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starktower/pseuds/starktower
Summary: sequel to 'do not go gentle into that good night'Tony and his new team go back to space to rescue Thor and Bruce, obviously it doesn't go as planned.





	Rage, Rage against the dying of the light.

**Author's Note:**

> Un-betaed fic.  
> I don't own anything.  
> This is by the way a direct sequel to do not go gentle into that goodnight, i really struggled with this one guys, i am not 100 satisfied with it, but here you go.  
> Hope you enjoy it.

The cold was one of the worse thing about his situation, never mind the bruised skin, the broken bones, the dried up blood, the weakened muscles, the chained up hands, it was the cold that got to him the most, seeping through his fading body making him feel like he was burning from the inside, with no clothes on to cover up any part of him the cold fed on his already broken soul like the blackest of holes does on the brightest of lights.

A light that had long ago started fading to nothingness.

Never in his entire life has he experienced the sheer desperation he felt, body and soul numb to everything except for the desolation and the cold.

A cough clawed its way from his parched and raw throat making him wince in pain, his voice was the first thing that abandoned him from all the screaming, and god had he screamed a lot, _he_ had made him scream a lot.

From Pain.

From Rage.

From fear.

From grieve.

From pleading.

He had cried until his remaining eye dried up, until it became red and swollen, crust settling in the edges making its lid heavy and difficult to keep it open.

But it was all in vain, he had won in the end.

Thanos had won.

The once powerfully boisterous golden god of thunder was now dangling from the ceiling, his bare feet barely scraping the dirty sticky floor of the dark cell, half a dozen broken, severed bodies of his people thrown carelessly all around the room.

He had thrown up at the sight several times over until the only thing his body could do was dry heave.

Thor closed his eye and lifted his heavy head at the other side of the room where Banner hadn’t fared better.

Bruce had lost his battle against consciousness a while ago, Thor had lost count of the days, but he was glad his friend was at least spared the pain he had been through.

Thanos had used the power stone to trap the Hulk inside of Bruce, preventing him from coming out completely.

They hadn’t named Thanos the Mad titan for nothing, because he had thought it funny and poetic to crucify Banner to the wall stark naked as ‘the human that your pathetic race worships’.

Bruce had screamed and wailed all through the agonizing procedure, two Chitauri held him against the wall as another put metallic nails in his wrists and his feet to and ‘to make sure he stuck to the wall’ he had added two metallic rods through his bare thighs.

The screams of his friend will forever be engraved in his memories.

If there was a forever anymore.

He missed Bruce. He missed him like a missing limb.

He knew he was being selfish, but he wanted his friend to wake up, to talk to him to tell him that they’ll be okay, even though they both knew it wasn’t true, Thor just couldn’t handle being alone anymore.

Thor and Bruce drew strength from each other, when one was losing hope the other would remind them of it, when one was crying the other would comfort them as much as they could, even being chained apart from each other.

But it had been more than a few days that Bruce was unconscious.

Thor knew that if it were not for the hulk, Bruce would be a decaying corps by now.

Thank Yggdrasil for small mercies.

His mind was beginning to tire, he knew that he would lose consciousness any moment now.

His eye began to drop even further, muscles began relaxing on their own, mind began fogging, heart began slowing, and just about when he was going to give up and let the sweet embrace of darkness consume him, he felt the ground shake.

Confused, Thor frowned and thought maybe he had imagined it, he opened his eye and raised his head taking all his meager strength left to concentrate.

And just like the one before, there was another shake, this one much more powerful and much closer.

It took him sometime for his foggy mind to process what was happening.

The ship was under attack.

Unexpected and bright Hope soared and flew through him because maybe, just maybe someone will find them.

Pray the Nornes.

Another powerful shake made him loose his footing and stumbled to the ground only to be held by the chains above him, pulling at his burning and sore arms.

Thor let out an aborted cry of pain.

A loud explosion came from somewhere outside the cell, it seemed closer even.

The door flew open as a flood of Chitauri soldiers came in Weapons blazing aimed at Thor’s slumped form, but before they could shoot him they collapsed like ragdolls whose strings were cut off, much like they did back in Midgard several years ago.

Amidst all the chaos he didn’t hear the footsteps that were heading towards his cell until two men came in looking determined and frantic, as they took in the bodies of Thor’s people that littered the cell’s floor their face scrunched in horror before it transformed into a look of relief as they finally saw the chained-up god.

One of them was a big muscled purple man, with red scar-looking drawings all over his bare chest and stomach, while the other after receding his helmet looked like a Midgardian wearing a red leather coat.

As they approached him, Thor couldn’t help but flinch away from them.

‘And how far the mighty have fallen’

He hated himself at that moment, he was supposed to be a strong man, a prince-a King, he was supposed to be a king now, a warrior, the god of thunder, yet here he was naked and chained and flinching away from touch, body afraid of more pain.

“Hey, hey” said the Midgardian hands raised in clear non-threatening gesture voice in a calm and soothing way “We mean you no harm buddy, we’re actually here to rescue you and doctor Banner”.

Thor eyed him for a moment suspiciously “Who are you people?” croaked out, voice breaking.

He couldn’t even recognize his own voice.

“We’re the guardians of the Galaxy” answered the second man proudly and loudly, before the leather wearing man cut in “Tony is with us, and when he learned of your capture he had to come and get you out of Thanos’s clutches”

Thor scrunched his eyebrows in confusion before his eye widened considerably.

“Tony? As in the man of Iron?” he asked incredulously “He’s here?” he couldn’t help the hopefulness that slipped into his voice.

The Man smiled and nodded “hold on” he said before he pressed a finger in his helmet “Tony we found both your buddies, they are alive.”

Thor had to wait only a couple of seconds before he heard the familiar whine of the Iron man suit’s repulsor and then there he was in front of him.

He stared in disbelief as the Iron suit disengaged and his friend Anthony came out of it wearing a black and electric blue under suit looking disheveled.

There was silence as they stared at each other for a few moments before Tony ran towards his friend and enveloped his much bigger frame in a fierce and desperate embrace, a gesture Thor apparently needed badly from the way he buried his face in Tony’s neck and from the way his body was shaking from quiet sobs and the everlasting cold.

Tony drew back reluctantly from the embrace and finally noticed his friend’s nakedness.

“Peter, hand me your coat please” tony said to his friend which the other readily complied.

“Drax buddy can you get rid of the chains”. Said the distraught hero as he draped the coat over Thor’s back, he heard the rustle of metal against metal before the sound of the chains breaking came in.

As soon as the chain broke Thor’s big arms slumped over Tony’s back as they clutched the fabric tightly not wanting to let go. A gesture Tony was only happy to return.

One of Tony’s hands came up to go through his friend’s much shorter than his usual mane of dirty blond hair “God” exclaimed Tony desperation and relief taking over his voice “I thought we would be too late, Pointbreak”

“Almost were, friend Anthony” admitted Thor.

This time it was Thor that drew back from the embrace and looked towards where Bruce was being released from the makeshift crucifix by Tony’s friends.

Tony seemed to have followed the blonde’s gaze as they landed on his friend’s unconscious and bloody form.

“Oh god. Bruce?” whispered Tony in disbelief this time he was the one who leaned on Thor for support.

A scalding wave of rage burned through Tony at what his two friend went through.

“I am going to destroy him” said Tony through clenched teeth.

Wordlessly the Iron Man’s suit encased itself on the unmoving form of Bruce.

“FRI. Take him to the ship’s med bay A.S.A.P. and start running diagnoses immediately” commanded Tony frantically.

He looked back at a barely covered Thor “Can you walk on your own buddy, we need to get you both out of here before Thanos and his villainous version of one direction get wind of our playing ocean’s eleven on their asses” Rambled Tony with the panic and fear, that he had been feeling since leaving Wakanda almost two weeks ago, latching onto his voice.

Thor only nodded and got up on his shaky feet. Quickly, Tony snuck under one of the bigger man’s arms as a support while Peter snuck under the other side.

From the way Thor’s cheeks flushed, he had needed the help but just didn’t want to ask for it.

Why must I surround myself with big buff stubborn blonds?

“Drax. Get the others into the Milano now, I don’t like the fact that we’re having this much luck, it feels wrong, Thanos and the Black Order out at the same time must be something extremely important, either they are on their way to collect another stone or they were setting a trap for us, and I don’t want to test that theory, so out we go guys” Barked Peter with authority in his voice.

They were the last to arrive.

Gamora, Rocket and Nebula were waiting for them on the back of the ship keeping a look out for any new arrivals.

Just as they were about to board the Milano, a powerful beam of energy shot just above their head making them all jump for cover.

Tony turned around and his heart stopped, his muscles seized in sheer panic and fear.

_‘Shit, shit, shit’_

The black Order was there, they had barely made it last time and almost lost Nebula and Mantis.

“You have something of ours, Guardians” said Proxima Midnight with her grimly sultry voice breaking through his turmoil.

She was standing in the middle while the others came into position next to her from both sides, ready to attack.

_‘Come on stark get it together. You can do it. Just think, think, think for gods sakes.’_ Thought Tony to himself, he couldn’t let his team down, not now, not when they just got two of his friends back, not when the fate of the known universe was at stake, he will not let his panic attacks get his loved ones hurt or killed.

He felt something hot and powerful kick in and instinctually raised both his now red misted hands and erected an equally reddish almost translucent barrier between them and the Black order.

What the fuck said tony looking at his brimming hands.

oh

The Reality Stone.

The Stone that was contained inside his arc reactor.

“Huh. How about that” exclaimed Tony surprise drawn all over his face.

He looked back at the Black order who were shooting and hitting at the shield with fury.

Why not fight fire with an even hotter fire. He thought to himself

Tony turned to Peter who was looking at him with surprise and awe.

“Get Thor inside, now” said Tony to Peter, nodding towards an unconscious Thor who must have been knocked out by Proxima’s shot.

“I am not leaving you out here alone and unarmed”

Tony’s arc reactor began glowing red “Believe me, I am _anything_ but unarmed” replied Tony with a Cheshire grin “Now get in the ship and go, I’ll catch up as soon as I get these a-holes out of our way”

“If you think-“Began Gamora but was promptly cut out by tony as he turned towards her, eyes entirely swimming in red.

“Trust. Me” stressed Tony looking at his friends in emphasis.

He wasn’t sure if his plan was going to work out but he had to at least try, for them.

Peter was looking at him with eyes overflowing with desperation, but he nodded “Come back to us Tony”.

Tony looked between Gamora and Peter, and saw the fear and concern in their eyes

.

_Could it be?_

.

The genius shook his head _‘not now’_

“I will” he promised them

Tony turned towards the Black order, trusting that his team would be moving soon.

Sure enough a couple of seconds later he heard the tell-tale sound of the ship lifting from the ground and flying away, but his eyes never left the Black order as they continued weakening the barrier, he only had a minute or two left at most, he needed to think of a plan beyond just holding them for the others to make their escape.

He felt Naked without the iron Man suit around him, but Bruce needed it more than Tony at that moment.

He only had the Reality Stone.

Wait the Reality stone.

The _Reality_ stone.

From the name, it could only mean that he’d have the power to play with reality as if it were a palpable and physical thing.  

Tony thought of the name of the other gems.

The mind stone, which they knew could play with the mind of anything and anyone.

The space stone, which could open portals and enable its wielder to control and warp space.

The time stone, which from what Dr. Strange told him could control time and travel through it forward or backward.

So it would mean that the stone that he had in his reactor would enable him to control with reality.

As soon as he finished that thought the barrier shattered completely, the order were looking as murderous as ever, Proxima aimed her staff at him, and tony only wearing his black under suit couldn’t afford to get take the hit. 

An idea struck.

Maybe it was time to test that theory.

In a split second and just as Proxima shot at him Tony’s eyes glowed red and the reality of him standing there changed with barely a thought and Corvus Glaive took his place, and with a blink of an eye the reality resumed itself with Corvus flying backwards having been shot by his wife’s staff.

“Oh, this is going to be _fun_ ” grinned tony wolfishly.

Proxima seemingly getting out of her daze let out an inhuman shrill of pure anger and frustration, her husband was down for the count.

Tony couldn’t stay in the ship any longer because if the Black order was here then Thanos was not far behind.

He had to get out of there ASAP.

He looked at the black order and raised his hands to bring them all together in the same area making some of them fly from where they were trying to sneak up on him, just as the four of them collided with each other, Tony made the air around them shimmer before it solidified into a sort of hard bubble that encased them inside of it, that should hold them for tony to make it to the Milano that was waiting outside.

And sure, enough Tony spotted the ship from one of the panels.

He closed his eyes and thought of a reality where he could transport himself into the Milano, he felt the now familiar tingling of the stone running through his body and felt a whoosh and change in the air and when he finally opened them he found himself in front of bewildered teammates, but he quickly turned towards the ships window panels and concentrated on Thanos’s ship red mist and waves engulfed their friend before they abruptly dying out , and all of them watched as Thanos’s spaceship exploded soundlessly.

It wasn’t going to hold of the Black order, but it would sure give them the time to make their escape.

Tony turned towards his teammates grinning like the cat who caught the canary only for it to drop from the faces that his family were making, watching his body.

“What?” asked tony scrunching his brows in confusion ‘did I scare them off with the display I just did?’

“Tony” said Peter as he approached him carefully “Your skin” he added nodding towards Tony’s exposed flesh.

Tony looked down.

“What in the hell”

Every surface of his skin was irritated looking red, but not the mystical red of the stone, but a sickly red of a rash or a burn, but that wasn’t the scariest thing, the veins were visible and black.

And it seemed like his body was running on some numbing agent, because as if something snapped back to ‘reality’ his whole body seized up and Tony crumbled to the ground boneless, violent tremors shaking his body as an inhuman scream tore out from his throat from the most horrible pain he’s ever experienced, it felt like the cells of his body were being torn out and regenerated at the same time only to be torn out again, the agony didn’t resemble anything he’s ever felt before.

Tony could feel hands pinning his body down and frantic voices calling his name, but they seemed far away.

So, so far away.

And after what felt like hours of torture and suffering Tony’s body finally allowed him the bittersweet caress of nothingness.

Tony fell into the cold embrace of unconsciousness

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Tony, _mio cuore_ open your eyes”

..

“Tony.”

..

“-pen your eyes sweetie”

Tony squeezed his eyes at the soft familiar feminine voice that he hadn’t heard in more than two decades

“Come on buddy, open your eyes” a very masculine, also a very recognizable voice said.

Tony’s eyes flew open in panic as he took his surroundings, wooden floors, high ceilings, and a wide open spaced familiar living room were the first things he noticed.

He knew this place.

Tony grew up there, the family’s piano sat in the same corner as he last seen it.

The Big open window let in the usual freezing cold breeze of New York’s winter, but surprisingly it didn’t affect him in the slightest, he looked down at himself only wearing an old graphic t-shirt and some jeans, feet bare.

He should be freezing, but the cold felt like a warm caress.

“Tony”

Tony turned his head so fast he almost gave himself a whiplash.

They were there.

Maria and Howard.

Mom and Dad.

But _how_?.

He must be dead, yeah that must be it, and the stone must have been too powerful for his human body to bear.

He must have died and now he was back the in the same place where his life had taken a turn for the worst, the day his parents had died.

Am I in hell? Thought Tony.

“No sweetie, you’re not in hell”

Tony startled and looked at his ‘Mom?’ “You- You can hear what I am thinking?”

Howard chuckled.

“No Tony, you said it out loud” he said with a fondness that he wasn’t seen in Howard, or at least not directed at him.

Howard seemingly understanding what tony was thinking, looked sad

“I am sorry tony” sighed Howard as he closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face before he looked back at tony with a look of pure desolation and determination.

“I really am, I know that I haven’t been the father that you deserve, and I hope you believe me when I say this, but I am proud of you, I am proud of the man you were and what you have become, I am proud of you as hero and as a son, I know I haven’t shown it to you when I was alive, but I do love you son, I always have and I always will”

Tony on the other hand couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Where am I?” he asked throat constricted with emotions.

“Tony” began Maria as she took a step forward, but as soon as she did Tony bolted backwards.

And asked more urgently “Where the _hell_ am I?”

Maria looked like she might cry but tony couldn’t care at that moment not with the panic that he could feel rising in his chest.

This is all a trick, a torture- maybe this _was_ hell.

“Anthony breathe.” Said a voice near him.

“Take a deep breath son, everything is going to be okay, you’re safe, nothing can hurt you here” Howard was crouched down in front of him his big hands cradling Tony’s face.

Tony met his late father’s eyes and all he could see was the love and concern, not the glazed over drunkenly disappointed eyes, he wasn’t sure he’s ever seen them directed at him.

Ad it had to be the fact of seeing them aimed at him that shocked him into breaking out of the clutches of the panic attack.

“Dad” whispered Tony disbelievingly, eyes welling up with unshed tears.

He was suddenly enveloped in a satisfyingly safe embrace, his father cradling Tony’s back head with one hand while Tony’s face was in Howard’s shoulder.

“I am so sorry son, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Said Howard over and over again, voice starting to break with the sheer amount of emotions that’s weighting heavily on the room.

Tony heard a sob coming from somewhere behind them.

Maria.

His mom.

Tears streamed down her beautiful face, hands over her mouth, probably to stop any other sob from coming out, she was crying as she watched her two boys huddled in a long past due hug.

Howard was the first to disentangle himself from the embrace, but he still framed his sons face with his hands.

“Listen to me tony, listen carefully” began Howard seemingly Turning serious, and if not for the traces of tears and wetness down his cheeks, tony would say he was about to receive one of his lectures.

“You are not dead, not yet at least, this is not the afterlife.” Tony’s Dad continued looking into his boy’s eyes intently “you’re in a limbo, a reality that serves as bridge between the dead and the living, the reality stone enables you to walk in here without getting stuck but we don’t have much time” Tony’s eyes widened at the mention of the Aether.

“What?” he asked incredulously getting up abruptly and stepping away from his dad

“Tony, sweetheart I know this is going to be a lot to handle but you need to know something important, something we hid from you for a long time, something about you” said Maria

Tony’s heart began pounding in his ears, he couldn’t comprehend half of what was happening.

“What do you mean I am not dead, I remember the pain after I used the stone against the black order, I vividly remember dying, otherwise how would I be here? And how do you know about the stone in the first place?”

Howard and Maria shared an exasperated but immensely fond look before they both looked at tony.

“Of course we’d know, we have been looking over you ever since we died, and I can’t believe how strong of man you’ve become my beautiful _figlio_ ”

“What she said” added Howard “I am extremely proud of you son, and to answer your question” he stopped and looked at Maria for a moment before he looked back at tony “the truth is that you should be dead, the power that traveled through your body should have shattered you from a molecular level, it is infinitely more than a normal human body could endure”

“ _Normal_ human?” Asked tony with a touch of apprehension in his voice.

Howard sighed “Maria and I-“he stopped hesitating before he steeled himself and continued “Maria and I are incapable of having children”

_Incapable of having children_.

_What?_.

But what about him

Does that mean he wasn’t their son?

I need to breathe.

Why can’t I breathe?

It hurts.

The shrapnel

The betrayal

The wormhole

The shield

The cold

The stone

Nothing hurt like this.

His face must have projected his horror and his utter pain because they quickly came and each took one of Tony’s flailing hands.

“I’m not your son?” Croaked tony, voice breaking.

“Oh sweetheart you are absolutely our son, what Howard tried to tell you albeit horribly, is that yes we couldn’t bear children but miraculously we did, we didn’t understand how at first until the day you were born”

Howard took over his wife’s explaining.

“I need to explain from the beginning, you see before I met Steve and the howling commandos I was doing some missions for the Allies, in one assignment I encountered and aided an individual and ultimately saved his and his people’s lives, that individual turned out to be king T’chaha of Wakanda and as a show of gratitude he gifted me with a chunk of what turned out to be the most precious mineral on earth.”

“Vibranium” whispered tony finally able to breathe again.

“I always wondered how you were able to procure it, especially at a time where wakanda was still deeply in seclusion” Tony didn’t need to think about the fact that that same vibranium is what Rogers’s shield was made of.

Howard nodded and continued “What king t’chaha and I didn’t know, is that that particular chunk of vibranium was encasing something else, something that I thought was only a simple orange jewel.”

Tony’s knew where this was going but he still couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

Surely not.

Maria took over her husband and continued squeezing Tony’s arm in the process.

“Your father and I met in the early sixties and you know the story, we fell in love and got married within a year, and we spent the next few years trying to get kids but alas we couldn’t, we went from Doctor to Doctor but nothing helped, we were crushed and almost got divorced.” She said gravely before she turned towards Howard and smiled lovingly at him.

“But Howard, he got me through it, I knew he wanted kids just as much as I did and the very idea of not being able to have them crushed him deeply, but despite that he fought for our marriage, he made me fall in love with him all over again and we both realized that despite us not being able to be parents we could still be husband and wife” Explained Maria with tears in her eyes and a gaze full of love.

“And to celebrate our 8th anniversary Howard gave me a stunning necklace he made just for me and embedded in the middle of it was one of the most beautiful stones I have ever seen, it was orange and looked almost ethereal, that night something changed in us, we both felt it and then nine months later our miracle baby was about to be born”

“Wait so you’re saying that the stone fertilized you to be able to have me?”

They both nodded “but that’s not all, is it?”

“No, no it’s not” she replied “the night I was about to give birth to you, the only people that were present were your father, Jarvis, Ana and I because the stone began emitting this beautiful yet intense orange light that seemed to increase as the contractions began to strengthen until it bathed the whole room with warm orange light, and as you came into this word the light just disappeared, we were distraught at what was happening and then you started crying and when you opened your eyes for the first time, they were the same color as the gem before they returned to their normal color”

“Wh-what are you trying to say” asked tony clearly overwhelmed with the implications.

“We’re saying that you are the soul gem, the sixth infinity stone and you are one” Answered Howard.

“It is one of the reasons why you survived so much in your life, have you ever thought that maybe you should’ve never survived Afghanistan, the arc reactor, the palladium poisoning, the wormhole, Ultron, Siberia and now the reality stone. As incredible of a man you are, no human could survive using an Infinity Stone” replied Howard Gently.

Just as Tony opened his mouth to deny it the room began cracking as furniture around them began disappearing.

“What’s happening?” asked Tony heart beating fast.

“You’re waking up”

“It’s time for you to go”

Tony shook his head as he lunged for his parents and held them tightly “No, no, no, no I just got you back, I can’t- _please_ don’t ask me that, I _can’t_ lose you again, please mom dad, I can’t do it, I am so tired, I can’t keep going, please I want to go home with you, _please_ ”

His parents hugged him tighter before they pushed him gently away.

“I am sorry son, but your time hasn’t come yet, you need to go”

Tony shook his head in denial.

“Tony, look at me sweetie, your friends and the entire universe needs you to wake up”

“But _why_ , why does it always have to be me, why am I always the one making the sacrifices, _why_ ” desperation tainted his voice.

“Because that’s what good men do, and you are one hell of a man. You, Anthony Edward Stark are my- _Our_ hero” replied Howard.

A sob broke out of Tony.

“I love you, and I am so proud of you” said Maria as silent tears began streaming once again down her puffy cheeks.

Howard wasn’t faring better as his eyes shone with tears “I love you son, you _are_ my best creation, and you’ve already made me proud.” Tony had heard that phrase before but now it held so much more meaning.

“I love you too guys”.

Just as everything was about to fade away Howard grabbed his son’s forearm and said with intensity pouring out of his body “Tell him that I forgive him, we both forgive him”

“Which one” asked tony heavily.

“Both, tony, both” said Howard before fading away completely.

Tony looked around.

“Dad, Mom” he asked quietly, fear and heartbreak overwhelming him.

“Please”.

“Come… back” he whispered to the empty room.

Tony crumbled to the ground as sobs shook his body, he brought his head into his hands and wailed at the unfairness of everything.

He didn’t feel himself slip away into slumber.

His mind stopped buzzing.

His heart stopped racing.

His soul stopped Aching.

And then he opened his eyes.

 

 

He was back.

 

 


End file.
